An Faolchú Angus Is Leon
by Thorne31
Summary: Rinoa is abducted, leaving Squall in a vicious fury. However, a biological countdown is taking place inside Squall's own body, causing severe physical pain. Squinoa (rated R for later chapters)
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVIII or Squaresoft (it'd be nice if I did...) 

Prologue

The stormy, slate-gray sea thundered onto the side of a rocky cove. A lone figure stood at the cliff's edge, salty spray stinging his eyes. Below him, he heard the earth rumble. Cautiously, he peered over the edge, and saw a rocky crevasse. The crevasse seemed to be emitting the resonance. He strained his eyes for a better look at the cave. A single gray feather fell from inside it and glided towards the roaring ocean. The man gave the feather no second thought, dismissing it as a gull's feather until a huge, black shadow burst from the cave. The man stumbled back as the titanic shape streaked past him, nearly taking the head from his shoulders. He looked up and was petrified, seeing the shape clearly for the first time. 

The entire form of the creature was an inky black. Lightning flashed off colossal silver wings. A long, snakelike tail lashed out at the stormy sky, ending in a silver, axe-like blade. A silvery mane covered the fearsome beast's throat, and gigantic paws bore 9-inch silver claws, each sharp and deadly. The face was that of a demonic lion with blood-red eyes and fangs as long as a man's finger. The devil-lion threw its head back and a deep, terrifying roar ripped across the sky. The man stood rigid with fear as the evil spawn swooped down from the sky, claiming his soul.

Ha ha! You'll have to forgive me; this is my first fanfic, so I'm pretty wired right now! Review please!


	2. The General

Disclaimer: I don't own Squaresoft or FFVIII. I only use them for my own selfish purposes...

Rain pounded against the windows of Balamb Garden. Inside, Rinoa looked out her dorm window and sighed.

"Will this rain ever go away, Angelo? It's been like this for days!" Angelo, her German Shepherd- Breeder Collie mix yawned and then whined softly. Rinoa smiled fondly and scratched the loyal dog's head.

"I know. I miss Squall too. I wish he didn't have to go across the ocean in weather like this." 

Squall had left Garden to visit Edea at the orphanage and then bring her back to Garden. Even though he had taken the Raganarok, the stormy skies still posed a threat. Squall had been gone for nearly a week now, and Rinoa felt as lost as ever. They had grown so close that it became unthinkable to be separated for even a day. Rinoa had cried for the first few days, then was consoled by Squall over a radio transmitter. _Tap, tap._ Someone was knocking softly on Rinoa's door. Rinoa gave Angelo one more pat before she went to answer the door. She opened it and was immediately swept off her feet. Alarmed, her narrowed eyes flicked forward to view her assailant's face. Rinoa's angry expression instantly dissolved into laughter. It was Squall, flashing on of his rare smiles and still in one piece. Rinoa sighed with relief.

"Oh, Squall! I was so worried about you, being in that storm and all! I missed you so much!" Squall gave forward a rare laugh, tipped Rinoa's chin up with his index finger and began nuzzling her neck, making her giggle.

"I missed you too. It was the longest trip I ever took, what with not having you there to pester me every minute of it!" Rinoa gave him a look of mock indignance.

"Now, now, boy-o, you know I'd never bother you! Apologize!" She demanded. Squall's apology was a friendly peck on her cheek. Rinoa shook her head and smiled.

"You'll have to do better than that, Mister!" With a sly grin, he kissed her fiercely.

"How was that, O mighty Princess?" Squall inquired, after their lips parted. 

"...That'll work..." Rinoa replied dazedly. She fingered Squall's Griever necklace absentmindedly. Just then Zell came running down the hall, knocking several students over in the process. He came to a sudden stop, red and black Nikes screeching on the pale blue linoleum, leaving dark streaks on the floor.

"Yo, Squall! Headmaster Cid wants you! Its an emergency!" Zell panted. He saw Squall holding Rinoa and added, cringing slightly, "I didn't interrupt anything...did I?" The martial artist slowly began to back up. Rinoa laughed.

"No, you're alright. Squall's not going to hurt you." Rinoa laughed.

"Meet me be the oak tree tonight." Squall whispered into Rinoa's ear and set her down. "See you later."

***

"Squall, I wanted to thank you for bringing Edea back. I didn't like having her down at the house by herself." Squall, Headmaster Cid, and his wife Edea stood inside Cid's office. 

"Why?" Squall asked, puzzled. He knew that Edea was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. Headmaster Cid rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.

"I've heard a report about a man who died a few weeks ago near Centra, and those ruins are a little too close to the orphanage for comfort. I didn't want Edea to get hurt."

"So a guy died near the orphanage. So what? What made you think Matron would get hurt?" Squall inquired, not without a sharp look from the former Sorceress. Edea began to answer the young SeeD's question.

"When they found the man, he was brutally mauled and they found his heart several yards away, ripped to shreds." Squall's jaw dropped.

"Didn't they find the killer?" Headmaster Cid shook his head.

"That was the strange thing. There were no footprints, weapons, nor anything. Just the man's body."

"Who was he?" Squall wondered. Cid swallowed.

"...General Caraway." 

A/N: Hey! Finally got my first real chapter posted. Let me know what you think! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! 


	3. The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVIII, but if I did, would make a sequel called FF8 Part 2, unlike those tightwads at Square...

Squall slowly walked back to Rinoa's dorm. _How am I going to tell Rinoa that her father died? How will she react?...I don't want to hurt her feelings. _Reluctantly, he knocked on her door. No answer. 

"Rinoa? It's Squall. Please let me in." Still no answer. _She must be at the old oak tree._

The oak tree was a colossal tree outside Balamb Garden. It was the location of Squall and Rinoa's usual rendezvous; the place where they could go and talk in private. As he exited Garden, Squall saw Rinoa standing beside the ancient tree. Rinoa saw him approach.

"Hello, Squall! You wanted to meet me here?" Squall's eyes were cast down, head hung. _Something's wrong with Squall. This is unusual behavior, even for him._

"Hey, boy-o, what's wrong?" She asked, concerned. Squall sighed.

"Rinoa...there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" Squall took a deep breath. _Here goes._

"It's your father. He's...dead." He closed his eyes. Rinoa sank to her knees. She looked up at Squall, eyes brimming with tears.

"Dead?" Slowly, he nodded. Rinoa burst into tears. Squall kneeled down and pulled her closer to him in a warm embrace. Sobbing, she rested her head on his chest. Squall's heart began to ache for her.

"...Please don't cry, Angel." He whispered softly. Rinoa felt even more tears come to her eyes at the use of Squall's pet name for her. She gloomily looked up at him.

"How did he die?" The question Squall had been dreading. He took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, but, I think that question is better left unanswered."

"Please tell me something."

"They think an animal did it." Rinoa sighed shakily.

"We never got along well, but I never wanted him dead..." She trailed off quietly.

"...I know." Squall replied.

The two young lovers sat beneath the archaic oak tree and watched the fiery sun dip into sapphire sea.

***

"Irvine! You're cheating! No one can possibly get all GF cards in one hand with Random Rule!"

"Am not! Zell, Quistis, am I cheating?" Irvine and an extremely peeved Selphie were matched in a card game using the random rule. Zell and Quistis were their audience. Quistis tried to hide a smile with her hand.

"I don't know Irvine...an all GF hand sounds pretty unusual..." Zell laughed. 

"I know how to see if he's cheating!" He jumped up and grabbed Irvine's arm and reached up the sleeve of his overcoat.

"Hey-"

"Aha!" He exclaimed, pulling out a deck of GF and Character cards.

"IRVINE!" Shrieked Selphie. Irvine glanced around. A nearby troop of girls giggled.

"Guys...you aren't helping matters any..." He ducked just in time to avoid Selphie's flying Nachaku. She stormed off. Some one behind them laughed sardonically.

"Heh heh heh...I guess Cowpat isn't as smooth with the ladies as he says he is..." Zell, Quistis, and Irvine spun around to see Seifer and the remainder of his posse, laughing at the sharpshooter's misfortune with Selphie.

"So where'd Selphie storm off to?" Irvine just glared at him. Seifer pulled an angry, indignant face.

"Hey, it wasn't my fault she ran off." 

"Probably was. Bet she smelled a rat approaching." Zell mumbled to Quistis under his breath. Seifer shot him a dirty look.

"Shut up, Chicken-Wuss." Zell's left eyelid twitched. Seifer stretched and yawned.

"So where's Puberty Boy and Rinoa?"

"Right here." Seifer turned around to find a less than happy Squall and a crying Rinoa. 

"What's wrong?" Quistis was concerned.

"...My father died. Some wild animal killed him." Rinoa began to cry softly again. Sympathy and consolation was given by all.

***

Four heavy paws padded softly outside Balamb Garden in the moonlight. The creature lifted it's silver-flecked muzzle and sniffed. It could smell prey. 

The beast slunk around a corner of Garden and stopped beneath a window. It's first thought was to break through the window and attack the unsuspecting prey inside it. It leaped up, but the window was too high, and the animal's claws raked the side of Garden. It snarled in frustration. Viciously, it stalked off in a rage, vowing to kill it's prey soon...

Inside, Squall awoke inside his dorm with a start, a loud crack resounding as his head connected with the headboard. He had clearly heard something pound against his outside wall. Rubbing his aching forehead, he groggily walked over to the window and peered through. Nothing. Squall relaxed and then snapped to attention as he heard a timid knock on the door.

"Oww...come in..." Rinoa stepped into the dorm softly. She saw Squall rubbing his head.

"Are you okay?"

"I just hit my head. I'm alright. What do you want?" He asked rather sharply. 

"I was feeling really depressed. Would you let me stay with you tonight?" Squall thought it over.

"Keep the door open. We don't want anyone getting ideas." Rinoa nodded and walked over to Squall. He moved the sheets over and let Rinoa lay down beside him. They curled against each other and fell into a deep sleep.

***

When Rinoa woke up, she saw that her and Squall were holding each other like it was 10° below. That wasn't surprising, considering the way Squall kept his dorm temperature. She rested her head on her knight's chest and gazed at his face. Rinoa loved to look at Squall while he was sleeping. He always looked so peaceful, caught in a warm net of dreams, a comfortable place to be. His long, thick, black lashes rested against his perfect cheekbones, and his lips had a slight curve to them this morning . Rinoa marveled at the difference of Squall's face when he was awake and when he was sleeping; he usually looked deep in thought. Squall started to stir and opened his eyes sleepily.

"Mmmph...gdmrn..." He mumbled halfheartedly. Rinoa laughed and gave him a light kiss on his cheek.

"C'mon, Rip Van Winkle, wake up!" Rinoa got off his chest and allowed Squall to yawn and stretch.

"Feeling better?" Squall asked Rinoa as he combed his fingers through his dark oak- colored hair. Rinoa sighed.

"I still feel a bit depressed, but the pain isn't as sharp anymore. How's your head?"

"...Still hurts..." Squall replied, gingerly touching his throbbing forehead. Rinoa grinned and gave him a peck on his lips. She went back to her dorm so Squall could get dressed.

Later, after Squall had eaten breakfast in the cafeteria, he determined to go outside by his dorm window to check for any signs of an intruder last night. He walked out beneath his dorm window and searched the area. Squall discovered jagged claw marks on the wall and huge paw prints everywhere. _What kind of animal did this?_ he wondered. Just then he began to get the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that came when something terrible was about to happen. Warily, Squall looked around. Nothing was there. The sky was a clear blue and a healthy breeze blew gently, tousling Squall's hair. Still, something didn't feel right.

Suddenly, a colossal, snarling weight hit him from behind and knocked him to the ground. The dust from the ground clogged his nostrils and made him cough. He tried to turn his head around so he could breathe, but the creature just roared into his ear. Squall roared back and immediately flipped over swiftly and saw his attacker. It was a huge gray wolf! It's ears were laid back, fur at it's nape bristling. It growled deeply and sank it's razor-sharp fangs into Squall's shoulder, narrowly missing his neck.

"AAARGH!" Squall yelled. The wolf jaws began to grind and it actually gnawed on Squall. Shoulder pained and bleeding profusely, he managed to shove the great wolf off him. Squall scrambled to his feet, hand pressed to his shoulder. The wolf recovered quickly and rammed Squall in the gut, knocking him down onto his hands and knees.

Inside, Irvine and Zell were matched together in a card game inside the cafeteria.

"D*** it!" Zell swore as Irvine laughed evilly and took his Shiva card. Just then they heard a loud shout outside. They looked at each other and took off outside. Irvine grabbed his gun.

They went outside and heard ferocious growls and snarls.

"This way!" Irvine shouted, running over to his left, Zell in tow. They sprinted around the corner of Balamb Garden's green- blue wall and saw the unexpected.

Squall was on all fours, trying to stop the blood that was rushing from his mangled shoulder. Beside him, they saw a monster of a wolf, gold eyes flashing maliciously. It's gray muzzle was bloodied. They immediately knew what happened. The beast had attacked Squall. 

It saw Irvine and Zell, snarled, and crouched, prepared to attack. Shaking, Irvine lifted his gun and took careful aim at the beast. He pulled the trigger as soon as the wild animal lunged for the critically injured Squall. The wolf shrieked and collapsed, breathing with difficulty as pink bubbles of blood frothed upon its black lips. It growled quietly, with defiance. Irvine fired again. Yelping wildly, it spasmed once, shuddered, and then lay still, never to wreak havoc upon another creature again. Irvine and Zell ran up to Squall. Zell examined his shoulder briefly. Splinters of bone stuck into the surrounding muscle and sinew. Saliva and blood covered the wound completely. The injury was so profound that Squall's collarbone and the bones of the shoulder could actually be seen clearly. The grass beneath Zell's feet was crimson and slick with Squall's life-blood. Zell felt like he was going to be sick. He helped Irvine by easing Squall onto his back. He moaned in agony, breath labored. Irvine took a close look at his shoulder and shook his head. If Squall didn't get medical attention soon, he would quickly bleed to death.

"...Oh s***, if Squall dies on us...poor Rinoa, she just lost her father. C'mon, Squall, you've gotta stay awake! Don't you die on me! Zell, keep him conscious and help me pick him up!" However, it was too late. Squall's eyes glazed over in pain as his world went black. Irvine carefully lifted him up by his shoulders while Zell carried him by his ankles. They awkwardly hauled him into Garden, gathering a concerned crowd.

"Is that Squall Leonhart?"

"What happened?"

"Oh my G**! There's so much blood!" Zell grew increasingly angry at the crowd of anxious people.

"BACK OFF!" He bellowed. "If you aren't going to help then get out of the way!" Having frightened the students off, Irvine and Zell finally made it to the infirmary. They were met by an extremely astonished Dr. Kadowaki. 

"Zell! Irvine! What happened to Squall?! Quick! Quick! Get him onto the bed!" Zell explained everything quickly as he and Irvine lay the unconscious Squall on the infirmary bed. Dr. Kadowaki grabbed a tube of some sort of medication and a pair of small silver forceps. She placed the contents of the tube onto Squall's shoulder and gently began to rub it in. 

"This ointment should help stop the bleeding..." She then took the forceps and began to pick out splinters of bone, fur, and debris out of Squall's injury. Zell and Irvine rushed off to tell the others what had happened.

I hope this chapter didn't suck as much as the last. Trust me, the story's not great now, but it gets better!


	4. The Change

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy or Squaresoft, blah, blah, blah...

Days later, Squall began to regain consciousness. As he opened his eyes, he saw Rinoa on his left, apparently examining his bandages. Tears were running down her face. He tried to reach for her, but a searing pain shot through his arm. He gasped then gave a choked moan.

"Ohhh," Rinoa's eyes widened.

"Squall? Oh, Squall! I thought you were going to die! You lost so much blood! Are you feeling okay?" Squall nodded slowly.

"Were am I?" He asked quietly.

"You're in the infirmary. I'm so glad you're alright. I thought I lost you..." She kneeled beside the bed and placed her head on Squall's muscular, bare chest. He wrapped his good arm around Rinoa and kissed her deeply. 

"Heh, heh, heh! It looks like ol' Squall here is doing better!" Squall and Rinoa broke apart abruptly and looked to see Dr. Kadowaki laughing at their shocked faces. Rinoa blushed and gave Dr. Kadowaki an excuse she knew wouldn't work. 

"I-I was just checking his bandages..." The old woman only smiled more broadly._ Those two are such a cute couple._

"Looks to me you were doing more than that!" She chuckled. She walked over to Squall to check his wound. When she reached him, however, her eyes widened in shock. 

"Rinoa...look at this..." Rinoa peered over and gasped. 

Squall's wound had almost healed completely! All that was left of it was a 3 inch cut that was hardly deep enough to bleed.

"...I can't believe it...he was only in the infirmary...four days..." An astonished Dr. Kadowaki mumbled. Squall was puzzled as well.

"...How did it heal so fast?" No one knew. 

Just then, Zell, Quistis, Irvine, and Selphie somehow managed to cram themselves into the small office.

"So! It appears that Squall's awake! We dropped by to..." Irvine trailed off as he saw Squall's shoulder. "How'd that happen?" Quistis squeezed forward. 

"Squall, what did the wolf that attacked you look like?" Squall described it. Quistis looked thoughtful and turned towards Dr.Kadowaki.

"Do you think that maybe we should examine the wolf? Maybe it wasn't what it appeared to be." Irvine held up a hand.

"Listen, lady, when I saw that wolf, it looked just like any other. What do you mean that 'it wasn't what it appeared to be'?" Quistis shrugged.

"I agree with Quistis. I think that examining it's body is a good idea. For all we know that animal may have given Squall a disease." Dr. Kadowaki added, "Show me the body."

Irvine and Zell lead Dr. Kadowaki to the decaying corpse. 

"Ugh..." Zell commented.

"I think 'ugh' just about sums it up."

The rancid, coppery scent of blood drenched the air. A whole manner of crawlies had thoroughly investigated its body for days. The stench was terrible. Zell quickly ran behind a rock and began to retch. Dr. Kadowaki grimaced as she bent down to collect samples of blood, fur, and saliva. She placed the samples into a small bag rather quickly. She then turned to Irvine and Zell, who were both slightly green. 

"Have someone dispose of this thing."

Later that night, Dr. Kadowaki sat peering into her microscope, examining a drop of the wolf's saliva, finding nothing unusual. Out of curiosity, she added a few drops of Squall's blood, which she had collected earlier. Suddenly, something amazing began to happen. 

As Squall's blood cells came into contact with the wolf spit, the saliva rushed forward and completely dominated Squall's blood. The fluids began to mix, forming a new substance which the old woman could not identify. Dr. Kadowaki was excited and pondered the meaning of this phenomenal change. Suddenly, the answer slowly dawned on her with horror. She prayed that her conclusion was incorrect.

***

_"Squall Leonhart, please report to the infirmary immediatly. Thank you."_ Dr. Kadowaki's anxious voice crackled throughout Garden, waking many students in the process. Squall heard and groggily wondered what they wanted him for. _Probably want to interrogate me on that stupid monster. _He looked over at Rinoa, who had managed to sleep through the announcement. Carefully, he crawled over her to change his clothing.

Inside, he met a grave looking Dr. Kadowaki.

"Have a seat." She prompted. Squall looked at the doctor carefully, noticing that she appeared unusually tired, old, and distraught.

"Last night, after you left the infirmary, Squall, I stayed up after hours to investigated the samples that were taken from the animal's corpse," the doctor began. "Out of pure curiosity, I placed a sample of your blood as well as a portion of the beast's saliva under a high power microscope. I noticed immediately that something phenomenal was taking place when the two substances made contact. The DNA found in the wolf's saliva began to merge with your own, Squall. These new cells of genetic information rapidly began to multiply." Dr. Kadowaki leaned over her cool metal desk to peer more closely at the two. "Do you have any idea what this means?" Instead of waiting for an answer, the woman rose from her chair and began pacing around the small office.

"It means that this...this..._creature_ has obviously given you a portion of his DNA and I'm almost positive that by now your entire genetic makeup has been changed overnight." She looked at Squall.

The young man looked up at the doctor, shocked.

"Dr. Kadowaki, d-do you have any clue what's going to happen?" Squall asked shakily. The older woman sighed deeply, seating herself once again and rubbed her face with her hands. She looked back up at Squall.

"I don't know. Overall, I think it would be a good idea keep this between us so I can do some more research. However, if you begin to feel unusual in _any way_, I want you to come straight to me and we'll notify the Headmaster. Understand?" Squall nodded slowly.

"Yes."

A/N: Hold up! This isn't going to turn into some stupid, corny, cliché werewolf fic (I myself can't stand those...) The plot will thicken over the next several chapters. Sorry, I'm busy being with the CC team so updates will be few and far in between. Thank you so much to everyone who reviews!


	5. Secrets

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVIII and neither do you. 

Squall left the infirmary in a numb shock. Moments ago he had practically been told his life was about to change. He wanted to tell Rinoa, but, for some reason, something inside him stopped him from telling her what happened. Squall felt disconnected from everybody as he walked past students lounging against the walls, talking and laughing with friends. They seemed part of another world.

Squall wandered his way over to the cafeteria where the others would now be rolling out of bed and trying to find something to eat. He found them all grouped at a table, Selphie in Irvine's lap as usual. Squall pulled up a chair next to Rinoa and let his head fall onto the table into his arms. 

"Squall, are you feeling okay?" Rinoa asked as she concernedly ran her fingers through his chestnut hair. "When I woke up, you weren't there." Even Zell, who was trying to find out how many hot dogs he could fit into his mouth noticed that something was wrong.

"Yo, Squall, what's up? Are you sick?"

"Yeah...I think so," Squall replied, not yet ready to tell the others the truth. He sat up and looked around absentmindedly. "I think I'm going to go back and take a shower. Maybe the hot water will clear me up..." He stated as he stood up and pushed the chair in with a squeak. He walked off toward the dorms.

The warm, relaxing water ran across Squall's body as he reached for the shampoo. As he massaged the shampoo through his wet hair, he pondered what the doctor had told him earlier. He was rinsing his hair out when he heard a knock at the door.

"Come on in!" he yelled over the running water.

Rinoa stepped into Squall's dorm. She walked over to the bathroom door and pressed her ear against it and heard running water. 

"Squall, are you almost done in there? I need to talk to you." Squall stepped out of the shower, looked around, and sighed exasperatedly. 

"Rin, can you go over to my closet and grab me a towel, will you please?" He held his hand out the door as Rinoa giggled and placed a towel in it. Squall closed the door, dried off, and wrapped the soft white towel around his waist. _It's worth becoming a SeeD to use these towels..._ Squall walked over to the foggy medicine cabinet mirror, cleaned it off, and looked at his reflection. He sighed. _What's going on inside my body?_

Much to Rinoa's delight, Squall opened the door and walked over to his closet and began searching for clean clothing. He turned around to look at Rinoa.

"What are you staring at?" Rinoa giggled.

"You."

"Why?"

"Um, let's see: One, you've got muscles. Two, you're all wet. And three, you're standing right in front of me in nothing but a towel. Answer your question?" Rinoa replied pertly. Squall rolled his eyes and pulled a shirt and a pair of pants out of his untidy closet.

"I hate to burst it to you, but I'm going to have to kick you out on the account of I need to get dressed." Rinoa laughed and left the room to give him privacy. Squall dressed and let her back into his room.

"What did you need to talk to me about?" Rinoa glanced at him a moment then looked away.

" I wanted to talk to you about earlier. You weren't acting like your normal self."

"I told you I felt sick."

"Squall, I know you well enough to tell when you're sick and when you're healthy, and I can tell you're not ill." Squall looked at her.

"How do you know I'm not sick?"

"Squall, when you get sick you completely deny it and continue your usual business as normal. I have to force you to lay down. Please tell me what's on your mind." Squall sighed and looked away.

"I'm not ready to talk about it." Rinoa took Squall's face in her hands and looked into his eyes.

"Alright. Just remember that if anything is on your mind, you can trust me, okay?" Squall nodded, feeling slightly guilty. "I'm going to go meet Selphie and Quistis. They wanted to go to Balamb town today, so I'll be gone." She gave him a peck on the cheek. "I love you." Squall's face brightened slightly.

" I love you, too."

***

In Centra, it was still storming. It was the continent's rainy season, and water poured down from the sky in torrents. Inside and old stone orphanage by the sea, a large monster had sought shelter from the icy rain. It growled and extended large claws as it stretched its black body and silver wings. The creature's cavernous maw gaped open as a large pink tongue lolled out. It's lion-like features wrinkled into another rumbling growl. It was frustrated. It wanted to be out hunting for the prey it was sent to find. No matter, the devil-lion thought as water dripped from the leaky ceiling onto its nose. It would soon find the helpless one...

A/N: Oooo, the suspense! Anyway, guess I wrote another chapter that I thought I would. The next one should be coming up pretty soon. Thanks again to all those lovely people who review!

P.S.: I read one of your fics, Squall Leonhart!


	6. Bad News

Disclaimer: Look at the previous chapters. Its still the same.

Several hours later, the great lion woke up. It looked through the crumbling windows and ceiling and saw that the rain had ceased. The sky was still overcast and dark gray, signaling that the letup was only temporary. Eagerly, the lion growled in anticipation as it burst through a large hole and the wall and took flight towards its intended destination. Nothing would stop it this time...

***

_*CRACK*! _"I win!"

__

"OW! D**n it, Irvine! You dirty cheater!"

"Now, now, Zell, I won fair and square...my foot just happened to slip..." Irvine and Zell's arm-wrestling match had gone awry. Due to the fact that the women were gone, the two men had no one to stop them from competing with one another. Just as Zell was about to win, Irvine delivered him a swift kick in the shins. Zell was about to throttle Irvine when Headmaster Cid's voice crackled over the P.A. system.

_"Will Squall Leonhart, Zell Dincht, and Irvine Kinneas report to the main office immediately!" _ the Headmaster requested urgently. Irvine and Zell looked at one another for a split second then rapidly sped off to the elevator, knocking students over as they went.

_"Will Squall Leonhart, Zell Dincht, and Irvine Kinneas report to the main office immediately!"_ Squall looked up from an ink drawing he had been working on to get his mind off his condition, stopped what he was doing, and rushed to meet Headmaster Cid.

The first thing Squall, Irvine, and Zell noticed as they entered the office were an extremely disheveled looking Quistis and Selphie. Their grimy, dirt covered faces were streaked with tears.

"What happened?!" Squall asked quickly. "Where's Rinoa?!"

"It was this giant, evil looking winged lion...it all happened so quickly...took Rinoa..." Selphie managed to gasp out.

"..."

"Oh, Squall," Quistis began. "We couldn't help her. We had only gone to Balamb to restock on healing items so we didn't have our weapons. The beast was too powerful...oh, Squall, were so sorry..." Cid stood up from the chair behind his desk. He began to address the men.

"I called you three up here so we can try to find Rinoa. The women managed to take note of the direction the monster was heading. They said it flew towards the south west, so we have a general direction. I'm going to send you five out on the Ragnarok to search for Rinoa. A creature that size isn't going to be easy to hide, so fly low and _search thoroughly_. If the creature had wanted to harm Rinoa, it would have done so on the spot."

Cid looked at Squall, who was currently speechless. "All of you except for Squall may go prepare to leave." Once the others had left the room, the old man turned to Squall.

"Squall, I want you to be careful on this search." He cautioned. "This monster did not capture Rinoa randomly. Quistis told me that the monster ignored everyone and went through many people to get to her and her alone. I suspect that the lion is using Rinoa is bait to convince you to come to it. _Be careful_. I cannot stress that enough." Squall looked up at the Headmaster with angry eyes.

"You should be more concerned about Rinoa. I'll be fine." With that, Squall stormed out of the office to prepare.

A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short, but it's difficult to write a long chapter when you're sleepy. My younger brother got into a four-wheeling accident last night, so I haven't gotten a whole lot of sleep. He's okay, he was just a little loopy the other day and nothing's broken, so he'll be alright. Anyway, I'll update soon and once again, everyone's reviews are greatly appreciated! 


	7. The Pit

Disclaimer: I'm tired of typing these, so this disclaimer will apply to the rest of the story: I DO NOT OWN FFVIII OR SQUARESOFT! I AM MERELY BORROWING THE CHARACTERS!

Squall strode across the grass towards the landing dock for the Ragnarok. Laguna Loire, Squall's estranged father and the president of Esthar gave the ship to the SeeDs as a gift of gratitude for defeating Ultimecia. The sun glinted off the ship's gleaming chrome and high-color red paint. The ship had the appearance of a large red dragon, and Selphie always looked forward to flying it. Today, however, she was not glad for and excuse to fly the Ragnarok. She could only imagine what Squall was feeling as the young woman watched him come near the great red ship. Selphie and the others were already waiting to begin the search, packing only what was necessary. Just then, she heard the door slam loudly as Squall entered the Ragnarok in a foul temper. He stormed up to the cockpit where Selphie was already seated.

"Squall-" she began, but the angry young man cut her off.

"Just get this thing flying." Selphie sighed shakily and started the engines and began to head south once the Ragnarok was airborne.

Once Selphie had the ship flying, Squall walked off toward the ship's cabins. Without bothering to turn on the lights, he entered one of the rooms and felt his way toward the bunks. He lay down in one and covered his face in his hands. Rinoa. He missed her so much. Squall wondered if she was unhurt and worried that they wouldn't find her in time.

Suddenly, without warning, a searing pain lanced through his navel. Squall yelled in a mixture of surprise and pain. The ache began to creep throughout his body, still sharp. He moaned in agony as his muscles flexed and contracted. His head felt as though it would split in two.

Then it stopped. As suddenly as it came, the pain ceased. Breathing heavily, Squall slowly sat up. The throbbing behind his eyes proved to be too much and he fell back once again. What the h*** was that for? he wondered in confusion. Eventually, strength drain, Squall fell into a deep and dreamless slumber.

***

"Yo, Squall! There you are! We've been looking all over for you!"

Squall awoke to Zell's loud relieved voice.

"I...I didn't feel well so I fell asleep," Squall replied. "How long was I missing?"

"Believe it or not, four days. We figured you were stressed out, so the first day we didn't look for you. When you didn't show up for breakfast the other day, we got worried so Quistis and I looked all over for you. You wouldn't BELIEVE how huge this ship is!"

"Any word on Rinoa?" Squall asked groggily.

"Well, you'll be glad to hear you're not the only missing person we found!" Squall's eyes widened hopefully.

"You mean you guys found her?" He asked impatiently.

"Not exactly, but we did find a trail that lion monster left!"

"Let's see it."

***

The group stood outside on a cobblestone pathway on a large deserted island. All around them were high, craggy rocks and misty forests that consisted of gnarled trees. Dusty bare spots showed were grass was absent. Broken and decaying wooden fences stretched across hills and plains. However, the most omnimous feature of the place was a great gaping hole in the ground. Some of the rotten fencing partially surrounded the dark pit. Small hairs on the back of Squall's neck raised and he shivered. It wasn't due to the cool autumn-like air.

"Is this the trail?" He asked, pointing to huge pawprints leading to the hole. No blood. That was a good sign.

"Yeah," Quistis replied.

Squall froze. Something moved from the corner of his eye.

"Did you see that?" he whispered to the others. They shook their heads. Squall scanned the landscape. _*Rustle*_ There! He clearly heard movement. It came from the left.

Just then Selphie caught his attention.

"Um...guys...what's that?" she squeaked, shakily pointing towards the pit.

A small, shriveled hand found its way out of the hole. Its thin fingers wrapped around a clump of grass as another hand surfaced. A mummified looking head appeared. Its orange, catlike eyes peered at them, mucus emanating from the corners of the creature's eyes. The demon's straggly black hair was patchy and hung over it's face as the creature crawled from the hole. Its body was small, gray, and shriveled, yet water oozed from its pores. The creature hissed at them feebly, revealing blackened stumps of teeth. 

Fortunatly, Irvine regained his senses, drew his gun, and blasted off the little monster's head. The skull split in two, lumpy gray sludge pouring out.

"Urg..." said Irvine. The womens' faces were white and Zell was retching in the grass. Squall was horrified.

"W-what the h** was that?!" Irvine shrugged.

"No clue. Let's just hope we don't see anymore when we go in there to find Rinoa." Squall privately agreed.

***

"Let me go!" Deep inside the pit, Rinoa screamed in frustration. The great lion had its paw on her back, pinning her so she couldn't move. A figure in the shadows chuckled.

"It's no use struggling, dear," a woman's voice sounded from the darkness. "Griever won't let you up until I tell him to." A tall, graceful woman dressed in a long black dress stepped out of the shadows. Her long, shining, raven black hair reached to the ground. Her pale orange eyes glinted in anticipation as she kneeled down next to the struggling Rinoa.

"Your brave, handsome knight will be with us shortly," the woman continued. "Unfortunatly for you, he will soon be unable to rescue you. My wolf-demon I sent to find your knight did his job well. He was able to bite Squall before he died, and Squall doesn't have much time left by now. He has probably already experienced some of the side effects of the bite and has been lured here by you, thanks to my Griever." The wicked woman ran her purple nails along Rinoa's cheek, drawing blood.

The woman stood and retreated back to the shadows.

"All we have to do now is wait..." 

A/N: _The plot thickens..._Writing this chapter gave me the willies! Anyway, please review and thank you very much to those that do. Squall Lionhart, thank you for your support! 


	8. Discovered Soldiers and Pain

Disclaimer: See previous chapter.

Warning: if you're squeamish, don't read the last paragraph (It's right after the row of 3 stars)

Squall cautiously walked closer to the pit, checking for any more of the oozing creatures. Peering down into the hole, he saw a series of notches carved into the side leading to the black depths far below. He turned around to face his comrades.

"It doesn't look like we'll need a rope. There are notches leading to the bottom," Squall said. "Just be careful climbing down. It's a long drop." Zell gulped uneasily.

Squall lead the others down into the darkness. Every time he held onto the next handhold, dirt crumbled and fell into the nadir of the aperture and made his stomach lurch unpleasantly. He averted his eyes as dust and pebbles rained down from above him as his friends decended with him.

The decent seemed to last for and eternity. Squall's fingers were sore from gripping the notches for so long. Finally, his feet reached solid ground. He stepped aside to allow the others to finish climbing.

"Whew!" Selphie exclaimed. "I thought we'd nev-" Quistis silenced her with her hand.

"Keep quiet," she whispered. "We don't know what else is down here."

Squall surveyed the area around him. Dim, wispy blue lights gently illuminated the gloomy tunnel they stood in. The tunnel wasn't dirt or clay as Squall had expected, but rather a stone and mortar passageway. Just then, a faint murmur came to his ears. It sounded as though two people were talking. Squall took several steps forward and strained his ears.

"...has probably already experienced some of the side effects of the bite and has been lured here by you, thanks to my Griever...all we have to do now is wait..." Realization dawned on the young man. Whoever that was must be talking to Rinoa! Without regard for his own safety, Squall began to sprint down to the hallway.

"Squall, wait!" someone yelled, but Squall wasn't paying attention. He ran towards the voices as fast as he could. A stitch began to develop in his abdomen, and his breathing became ragged. Suddenly, white-hot pain lanced through his body once more. Unable to go on running, he collapsed as his body was wracked with suffering. Squall moaned in agony as the others caught up with him.

"Oh, sweet Hyne!"

"Squall, what happened?"

"Help...Rinoa..." He managed in between gasps. "...I'll be...fine..." Irvine shook his head.

"We're not gonna leave you here like this!" Suddenly, Squall turned vicious.

"I...said...LEAVE!" he roared. He drew a dagger from his boot and lashed out at Irvine, nearly missing his stomach. Blood bubbled up past Squall's lips as he growled at his comrades.

"We need to find Rinoa now," said Quistis, realizing how serious he was. Her and the others continued reluctantly down the tunnel, leaving Squall alone and screaming in agony.

Further underground, the woman with the dark hair continued to hold Rinoa captive. The young woman gasped in horror as several of the small, shriveled creatures came towards her with a set of chains and manacles. Rinoa drew back as much as possible while being held down by Griever as the creatures snatched her wrists. She flinched as their cold, wet skin came into contact with her own. The demons attached the manacles to Rinoa's trembling wrists and chained her to the large metal ring fixed into the stony ground. 

"Do you like my little companions?" spoke the woman. 

"W-what are they?" 

"They are cave demons." Rinoa shuddered as one of the creatures peered at her through narrowed orange eyes and hissed. "Unfortunatly, they cannot cause any harm and are few in number. However, the ones that do exist do so to serve me alone. They-" The woman with pale orange eyes stopped in midsentence as Griever stepped off of Rinoa and growled, hackles raised.

"What is it, Griever?" She asked the lion. She listened carefully and her wine red lips curved into a wicked smirk. The woman had heard the SeeDs coming towards her.

***

Inside the stone tunnel, Quistis and the others had slowed down as they neared the exit. They had clearly heard Rinoa along with another husky-voiced woman. Zell squeezed forward and peered out the exit. He quickly came back and flattened himself against the cool wall, breathing heavily.

"What's out there? Did you see anything?" Selphie asked. Zell nodded rapidly.

"I saw a tall woman with dark hair, Rinoa, and a really big, evil-looking winged lion looking straight at me, and it didn't look happy." Irvine loaded his Exeter.

"Looks like we've got work to do."

***

Squall was a bloody mess. Bright crimson blood poured out past his lips, nose, ears, and even out of the corners of his eyes. It was caked in his hair and clothing. His bones audibly cracked and his muscles flexed painfully. Squall's stomach lurched as he vomited blood. His internal organs felt as though they were shifting, moving around inside him. He felt sick, worse than he ever felt in his life as his head spun. Squall moaned and wondered if he would make it out of this alive.

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update. Also, I'm sorry if the last paragraph offended or sickened you, but I wanted to portray just how much Squall was suffering. However, it is a free country and we believe in a wonderful thing called freedom of speech. I don't want to hear any complaints about it as it was your choice to read it even though you were forewarned. 


	9. Chance

Disclaimer: I shall not repeat.

Rinoa was on her knees, trembling in combination of fear and anger. She had also heard her companions. At first it had given her hope, but then hope had given way to fear as she realized that the dark woman and her monstrous feline knew that the others were approaching. Rinoa tugged at her chains to no avail. The orange-eyed woman laughed as the girl slumped to the cold floor, defeated.

"Ha, ha, I know your friends are coming," The wicked one remarked snidely. "And guess what? You get to sit back and watch me take care of each one of them." Her crimson nailed hands drifted towards a glittering daggar hung at her side. She drew it carefully and kneeling down, placed the point under Rinoa's chin, forcing the imprisoned, untrained sorceress to look up at her. "I will especially enjoy caring for your _beloved_ Mr. Leonhart...young men like him make especially nice bed companions..." 

This touched a nerve. Rinoa's eyes, which had been shut tightly in defiance, snapped open and glimmered with hot anger.

"You..._bitch_!" The young raven-haired woman lunged at her captor, taking her by surprise. Griever, hearing his mistress being attacked, ignored the voices coming from the tunnel and spun around, growling as he dragged Rinoa, screaming, from the evil one. Nearby, at the end of the dark tunnel, Irvine saw his chance...

A/N: Sorry it's such a short chapter and sorry I haven't updated in a while. I temporarily lost this story, and I was too discouraged to rewrite this chapter. I was going to make it longer, but I need a little motivation from you guy! I honestly appreciate every review I get! 


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